Wayfarer wrote:You do not need this to become a great athlete(yes, i know its obvious, but i just wanted to make you feel better knowing that perceived exertion is the best measure anyway!)

Thanks! I know I don't need it to become a great athlete... actually I don't even want to be that great, just finish a HIM in a reasonable amount of time. I feel like I am undertraining at the moment which is a concern for me considering I don't have heaps of time before the busso half. I could use heart rate zone training to get more out of my training sessions. However, any heart rate monitor solutions that allow data to be transferred to a computer are exxy, starting at the $350 mark. That is why I like the miCoach solution because it does the same thing only much cheaper. I know it doesn't have GPS or whatever but all I really want is to graph my heart rate when I get home and know I am in my target heart rate zone when I am training. I don't need it but I want it

It looks like the miCoach Pacer is pretty good for the dollars and does it all minus the GPS part which is probably not that big an issue for a runner anyway.

I am currently using the miCoach iPhone application which does not have the HR aspect but has the GPS side of things and I find it pretty good. Working with the "coach", Victoria Pendleton in my case is good

It looks like the miCoach Pacer is pretty good for the dollars and does it all minus the GPS part which is probably not that big an issue for a runner anyway.

Something interesting is that it is supposedly ANT+ compatible which means theoretically it could be used in conjunction with an ANT+ compatible heart rate monitor/GPS watch gadget thingy such as a GARMIN Forerunner 405... exxy at $342 but...

You should be able to read the heart rate off the Adidas heart rate monitor using any ANT+ compatible heart rate watch gadget. I guess there are cheaper ANT+ GPS thingys around... Anyhoo, it would be useful for me to be able to read my heart rate (without having to wear 2 heart rate monitors) and also download maps of my runs and rides. I would also be able to validate pace information using the Garmin... or some other heart rate/GPS gadget...

Assuming that it is true that you can use the ANT+ gadgets together... Suunto have some very nice looking watches http://is.gd/fbw8j. Funny thing is that their GPS is a separate ANT+ pod... http://is.gd/fbwdT

Team that up with a miCoach bundle and you would be wearing:headphonesmp3 playerpacerheart rate monitorwatchGPS podfoot pod...

Had a play with Garmin Training Centre last night and it looks like it will set up the training sessions I want no problems. Not sure how that translates through to the watch in practice though. Need to do a bit more reading...

I did some reading and the reviews were saying the 310XT is missing some of the features of the 305... I doubt that is actually true. From the user manuals it appears the same features are there, just with a different name

Anyway the 305 only has 10 hours battery which is not much use to me on a long ride. 310XT has 20 hours.

I can get a 305 for $238 (incl heart rate but not foot pod)

A 310XT is $342 (minus heart rate and foot pod)310XT with heart rate is $374 (minus foot pod)310XT with heart rate and foot pod is $445

Heart rate monitor is $78Foot pod is $90

I can the heart rate and foot pod delivered for $154 if I buy them together

Here is where it gets really interesting... I can get a miCoach for $155 delivered...

However, 310XT with heart rate and foot pod for $445 still works out cheaper. Seems like a lot though. Am I sure I need a foot pod?

You only need a foot pod for recording runs/walks indoors. The one well two "advantages" of the 310XT is that you can use it swimming and it is a GPS oh and it gives you visual feedback in use; the miCoach pacer does not do any of this. Of course depends how important this is to you.

You only need a foot pod for recording runs/walks indoors. The one well two "advantages" of the 310XT is that you can use it swimming and it is a GPS oh and it gives you visual feedback in use; the miCoach pacer does not do any of this. Of course depends how important this is to you.

Andrew

As usual I am over-thinking/over-analysing the whole thing... my requirements are not that complicated. All I really want is to set a pace target and have something "tell" me visually or audibly to speed up or slow down to meet my goal. Say I want to run 5km in 30 mins. That would be the target I set.

So, I don't need GPS and I don't need to be able to swim with it. I would like it to do running (pace) and cycling (heart rate) though.

So I guess all I really need is the miCoach. What I want is another matter

casual_cyclist wrote:So I guess all I really need is the miCoach. What I want is another matter

Hi

Yes and yes I have for now decided to stick with miCoach on the iPhone as it is free and I have an iPhone. As I get more into running I might revisit this if I want to add HRM and/or visuals. At that point it would be a toss up between Pacer and the 310XT.

One thing to consider is that 310XT would be more suitable for the HIM that you are planning to do

casual_cyclist wrote:So I guess all I really need is the miCoach. What I want is another matter

Hi

Yes and yes I have for now decided to stick with miCoach on the iPhone as it is free and I have an iPhone. As I get more into running I might revisit this if I want to add HRM and/or visuals. At that point it would be a toss up between Pacer and the 310XT.

One thing to consider is that 310XT would be more suitable for the HIM that you are planning to do

Andrew

Yes, that is true. Now you are just confusing me... it would be good to be able to set a multisport pace to keep me on track so I don't blow up or go too slow. I believe the Garmin has that capacity. miCoach requiring an mp3 player would not be fit for purpose in a tri...

casual_cyclist wrote:So I guess all I really need is the miCoach. What I want is another matter

Hi

Yes and yes I have for now decided to stick with miCoach on the iPhone as it is free and I have an iPhone. As I get more into running I might revisit this if I want to add HRM and/or visuals. At that point it would be a toss up between Pacer and the 310XT.

One thing to consider is that 310XT would be more suitable for the HIM that you are planning to do

Andrew

Yes, that is true. Now you are just confusing me... it would be good to be able to set a multisport pace to keep me on track so I don't blow up or go too slow. I believe the Garmin has that capacity. miCoach requiring an mp3 player would not be fit for purpose in a tri...

Decisions, decisions

Hi

miCoach Pacer does not require an mp3 player ... you just plug earphones into it to get spoken to. It can work with a mp3 player of course if you want music as well. It will override the mp3 when ever you need to be spoken to too.

I just happen to use the iPhone application but it lacks the pod and HRM of course.

miCoach Pacer does not require an mp3 player ... you just plug earphones into it to get spoken to. It can work with a mp3 player of course if you want music as well. It will override the mp3 when ever you need to be spoken to too.

I just happen to use the iPhone application but it lacks the pod and HRM of course.

Andrew

It would be a bit weird to have nothing but maybe some low hum or faint crackle and be running along to have a disembodied voice tell you to speed up or slow down...

DC Rainmaker has a review on the FR60. He seems pretty happy with it. His concluding comments are:

All in all, the FR-60 is my favorite watch for all around use. And from a Garmin standpoint, it ranks second only to the Forerunner 310XT. If youâ€™re a new runner looking to get into some basic run and cycling data, the FR-60 makes for a great choice. But even in my case as an â€˜advanced runnerâ€™, I love the FR-60 because of the fact that itâ€™s small and normal looking, and I always have it on me. I know that at any point in time the watch is ready to jump into action â€“ such as on a training run or in a race if my primary watch fails me or if I donâ€™t want to carry the bulkier one along. And finally, with the addition of the synchronization between the Tanita BC-1000 and the FR-60, it makes for an easy way to get my daily weight details recorded. As I said before, I love it. So much so that I ended up purchasing one for myself (the demo unit heads back tomorrow), and my girlfriend also liked it so much she ended up getting one too (pink, of course, in case you are curiousâ€¦).

Ok, so I have placed my order. I considered the Polar 800CX with foot pod because it records R-R data which is apparently useful for detecting over-training before it gets too advanced. However, I consider $550 for such a device quite expensive. Also that did not include speed/cadence for the bike which is an optional extra.

I finally settled on the Garmin FR60 with foot pod/data transfer/bike speed and cadence sensor for $250. Much better value IMO considering I can set limits for heart rate, speed (running or cycling), cadence (running or cycling) etc. The only thing the Garmin doesn't do is record R-R data. I'm not sure R-R data will be that useful for me anyway and I can do the recording and analysis manually which for me will do pretty much the same thing.

Most important features for me is being able to set upper/lower speed limits for running/cycling and go for a long run/ride.Also, for interval training to set upper/lower heart rate limits.I'll also do some experimenting with cadence limits for some training sessions but more important is to record the data to analyse later.

The Garmin does all of these things and more so should be fine for me.

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